My grandson was recently called on a mission to Zambia. Anyone ever been there --- mission or otherwise. It sounds unsafe to me. Can't interfere without alienating grandson and his family.

Forgot the question mark in the second sentence of my post. The question was: Anyone ever been (to Zambia) --- mission or otherwise?

Unsafe compared to what? Columbia? East LA? Kiev? Being brainwashed in Rexburg?

Actually, considering the steady drizzle of incidents of murder or attempted murder of teenage girls in Utah recently, the case can be made that being a young woman in Utah is hazardous to one's health.

The worst part of a mission is the general mindf***edness of it all, and that is more or less the same regardless of location. Personally I think being in Zambia would be more interesting and enlightening than being in, say, Nebraska or (shudder) Temple Square.

I checked the US Department of State's Travel Advisory page, and Zambia did not come up. Canada has their own. Although untrustworthy in many ways, I think TSCC would err on the side of caution with assignments, for the PR considerations, if nothing else. According to posters here on RfM, they did pull US missionaries from Venezuela when things started to get rough there.

Thanks for checking with the DoS! The Morg leaders don't care. I know a couple of RMs who served in Zimbabwe, Albania, scary parts of Brazil, and drug/gang infested New Jersey and Chicago. They were often in harm's way and several left Mormonism due to their missionary assignments.

They have some incredible parasites and diseases there in higher frequency than we have in the US.

Coming from an undergrad background in microbiology, we could always count on Mormon missionaries to provide clinical examples of the things we read about in textbooks.

Good hygiene, cautious dietary choices, and clean water practices will hopefully will be taught to the missionaries there. Don't ignore any fevers or weight loss. Just saying. Get the recommended immunizations too.

Had quite a lot of contact with a local group there some years ago . A teacher, nurse, post office worker and others. On one level you could imagine some things were quite similar to the Western world only poorer.

Then one Zambian contact died of malaria and after a raid from terrorists from Zaire two women were raped and another murdered, but this was 20 years ago.

I've since met a young man from that town and he seemed well- adjusted and educated so quite a mixed bag really .

And he's 18 years old?

Zambia is part of what I call"good Africa," a beautiful and peaceful (and English-speaking) nation, stable these many years. Just make sure he looks right (not left) when crossing the street; they drive on the left.

I'd suggest the family check out information on the area and sit the mishie down to talk about whatever might put his health and safety at risk.

Then send him off with whatever sanitation or other materials he might need. Tell him to seek competent medical care if he has concerning symptoms. Tell him that the Holy Ghost won't take responsibility for viruses or accidents. Only the mishie can do that.

Too many missionaries come home with diseases and lifelong injuries and a few die there every year. It's appalling!

The World Health Organization seems to have a generally positive outlook on Zambia. They list major health issues within the country as being HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.

http://www.aho.afro.who.int/profiles_information/index.php/Zambia:Index

I have been to Zambia. It was over a decade ago for work. It is poor by any metric. The people are lovely. The country is peaceful. The weather was great each time I went but there are parts of the country that are higher altitudes and that can be disconcerting. I really liked Zambia. I would go again for non work reasons if I could afford it.

If I were to express concerns in your situation I would focus on the lack of health care- medical facilities are not optimal and one requires a lot of prep (vaccines etc) to go. If there was an accident or emergency South Africa would be the best option if possible.

I liked Zambia. But I would not live there. I did see mormon missionaries when I was there back on the day and they seemed to be regarded as a bit of a curiosity - not like Christian missionaries that just exploit or those that are there to engage in true charity practices.

Best wishes to you in being heard in your situation. Standard non developed world disclaimer applies to above (no regulatory for food or water so be careful, wildlife is not what most Americans are used to, etc.).

Zambia has over 800,000 Jehovah's witnesses and a Million Seventh day Adventists! I suggest he studies their beliefs before he goes!

I feel bad for these kids. They really don't know what they're signing up for.

Two years is a long time to be in a strange country that far away from home and those he loves.

And at so young an age. He's just graduating from high school for goodness sake.

Forced volunteerism much?

Zambia is one of the most toxic areas. And there's no vaccine for lead. There are heavy metals in vaccines so if your grandson wants to OD on heavy metals, Zambia is the place!

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/28/the-worlds-most-toxic-town-the-terrible-legacy-of-zambias-lead-mines

Zambia is two and a half times the size of Italy. To call all of it unsafe because of a few lead mines is like calling the whole of Italy unsafe because there's a few active volcanoes.

But I'm already glad no-one has confused it with The Gambia yet. That is what often happens ;)

Great observation.

Was in Lusaka a few years ago. Wonderfully kind people. Violent crime against foreigners is materially non-existent. Petty theft is constant. Leave your sun glasses on a table for 5 seconds and they will be gone. The poverty is soul crushing if you let it get to you.

If he didn't already leave, I hope he gets reassigned somewhere else. The weather alone would get to me. It's not right that some kids get sent to a third world country, facing poverty and diseases and others get Europe. I'd rather go to Greenland. You'd think they'd at least send someone older there, if they had to.
So, his family is ok with this?

A few have expressed concern that he's only 18, and to go to such a remote place! Goodness, do we still call it "the dark continent" any more? LOTS of kids, 18, even 17, have gone to Iraq and Afghanistan with backpacks and rifles. He'll probably mature and gain some strong social and business skills in the process. I once read a piece in the Wall Street Journal about how the missionary experience prepares young people for careers. We hear a lot of negatives on this board, but there are positives.

Britboy mentioned how many JWs and 7th Day Adventists there are. I have a mischievous idea for Worried (the OP). Give the fellow a copy of "The Kingdom of the Cults," by Walter Martin, saying, "You'll meet other religions, JWs and 7th-D-A's especially. This book has chapters on them so you can understand their beliefs." Here's the kicker: it has a superb (critical) chapter on LDS! Martin drew on the the Tanners' research. If our young misshie will read the chapters on JW and 7Th-D-A, he just might read the chapter on LDS!

Thanks for the wonderful response. Lots of useful information --- some of which I shall pass on to my grandson. This is a great place both for support and the useful data.

Since this has popped up again, I'll just stand by what I what I tried to explain previously:

Zambia is an incredibly benign place, and if you discount the problems that plague all Third World places and much of the United States, your grandson should have a wonderful and wonderfully safe time there. Possibly for only once in his life, your grandson will experience how the other side lives, and in this case, how people live on the far side of the moon. The LDS church has missionaries in several failed states--Haiti and Congo, for instance. Zambia, at least, is not a failed state.

In Third World places like Zambia, you always tend to find pockets and enclaves of the First World, perhaps a modern dentists office with European- or US-trained dentist. There is normally one fairly good hospital in the capital where the foreign embassies (and I imagine, foreign missionaries) first send those who get sick or injured, and if they need better care, the embassies and other foreign organizations buy into an air ambulance service that takes people to Pretoria for further treatment.

Going to Zambia on a mission is less dangerous than going to practically any Central or South American mission, and I'm wondering if you would have the same fear if he were being sent to Honduras or Bolivia. I might worry if he were going to a place like Haiti, but Zambia is not a place like Haiti.

If he doesn't want to spend his entire time there harshly judging Africans, he should read the book, "African Friends and Money Matters," which explains why African cultures do what they do. For instance, we say that they steal stuff, when really they perceive it as borrowing, because Bantu African cultures don't hoard or store or keep things from others. You need the bike?--you "borrow" it. Then someone else will likely "borrow" it from them, and it is perceived as one bike helping a lot of people, when otherwise it would just be in the house of only one person, which to them is not quite right. Reading the book will smooth out his stay and help him to be more non-judgemental.

One thing the WHO article (which I linked above) mentioned is that you want to get your prescriptions filled in the city before you head out to more sparsely populated areas, where availability of prescription medications is more sparse.

Make sure he drinks plenty of "sundowners". That is the Gin & tonic to ward off mosquitoes. They sell it in every convenient store. Obviously, he's not going to drink that, but the traditional is that the quinine stops mosquitoes from biting you.